Five Months Old

September 29, 2010

Dear Riggins,

You are FIVE months old!  I will spare you the "I can't believe its" and the "Where has the time gone's," but seriously.  You are growing up at the speed of light and I am grasping at every little moment I can savor with you.

This month brought two big firsts!  You experienced your first flight when I took you to Colorado Springs to meet your great grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Flying didn't phase you one bit; you traveled like a champ and made lots of new friends along the way!  While in Colorado, you also took your first trip to the zoo!  Your cousin Katie is a zoo keeper, and she took you up close and personal with grizzly bears and mountain lions.  I know you won't remember that trip, but I got some great pictures to document the occasion!

You also started solid foods this month.  I had been hesitant to start them this early, but once the time came and your pediatrician recommended it, I knew that you were ready.  Sure enough, after a week of rice cereal you had the swallowing skills down and were eager to expand your palate.  You are now enjoying sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, apples, pears, butternut squash, and your absolute favorite...prunes!  It cracks me up how much you adore this scorned fruit, but I cannot shovel it in fast enough for you!

In spite of your newfound love for food, you still nurse every 3-4 hours for about 10 minutes per side.  Though you won't get weighed until your 6 month appointment, you are definitely growing and are solidly in 3-6 month clothing (other than pants, due to your teensy tummy that only fills 0-3 month waistlines!) and size 2 diapers.

You are sleeping well, napping for about an hour each morning around 9, about 2 hours each afternoon around 1, and about 30 minutes each evening around 5.  You hit the hay around 8 p.m. each night, eat once around 11, and sleep until about 7.  At this point you still wake up a couple of times at night, but you quickly return to sleep with a little pat.  The biggest development in this area is that I can almost always put you down into your crib awake (after reading to you, rocking, and singing for a few minutes) and you put yourself to sleep without a fuss.

Although you have rolled over every which way at least a few times, you really could care less about rolling over and prefer to sit up or lay on your back.  You have discovered your feet and tongue this month, which makes for lots of funny faces, raspberries, and crazy contortionist entertainment!  You are a very calm, chill little guy, but when you get excited you are NOISY!  You love to grunt, squeal, and holler, and loudly gasp as you play and ride in your car seat.  And you are now a champion giggler, which your Daddy loves to coax out of you with tickles, airplane rides, tossing you in the air, or flipping you upside down.  (I am quickly learning that Daddy loves you and wants to keep you safe as much as I do and that I need to keep my mouth shut and let him have his fun!)  You still love your Jumparoo, bouncy seat, Baby Einstein, and Bumbo seat.  You also love your new little "atom" toy, your rattles, and your loveys.

The newest addition to your "loves?"  WEBER!  You really started to pay attention to her this month, following her around the room with your eyes and reaching out to touch her every time she walks by.  If you are laying on the floor anywhere, she is often right next to you.  You two are becoming good little friends and I know you're going to have a lot of fun with her as you grow up!

One of my greatest joys is watching you interact with others.  Each week you have a babysitter while I teach, and you started the children's program at BSF and MOPS this month.  I am so thankful for your easy going personality; you greet each new face with a smile and roll with whatever comes your way.  Everyone comments on your bright eyes (seriously, when I was flying with you, two separate women said, "Hey, Bright Eyes!" to you!), your sweet smile, your observant curiosity and your interactiveness with others.

So in conclusion, just when we think you couldn't get any more awesome, you go and get even cuter, smarter, and sweeter than the day before.  We might be a bit biased, but we are your parents so I think that's allowed.  You are my best buddy and I just love sharing my days with you.

I love you more than you will ever know.

Momma